 |
GetTextbooks.co.uk
Compare Prices & Save up to 90% |
|
|
|
| Login | Sign up | My Wish List |
 | | Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, (Baker Reference Library) by Walter A. Elwell (Editor) ISBN-10: 0801020751 ISBN-10: 0-8010-2075-1 ISBN-13: 9780801020759 ISBN-13: 978-0-8010-2075-9 Hardcover 2001-05-01 Baker Academic Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Fifteen years after its original publication comes a thoroughly revised edition of the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Every article from the original edition has been revisited. With some articles being removed, others revised, and many new articles added, the result is a completely new dictionary covering systematic, historical, and philosophical theology as well as theological ethics. | ||
Reviews | ||
Excellent book for the Serious Learner This dictionary is an excellent tool for those who want to learn or are learning about the various thoughts of theology. It does not just represent a conservative theological frame work but looks at and give the facts about those teological thoughts that most would agree with and even those that most would disagree with. The information is very well written but unless someone is into religion and theology it may be a bit overwelming for the causual reader. It is an excellent reference too for the Bible and Seminary student as well as for the busy Pastor or Professor. | ||
All Over The Map Some of the articles in this dictionary (and I have almost finished it: just about 15 pages left to go) are very good. Packer, Noll, Motyer, Morris, Blaising and Carson are always competent. However, in my mind the good articles do stand out as exceptional. There are many that are simply bland, and some that are downright alarming. McGavran's article on the Church Growth Movement is alarming for its self-promotion; Nicole's article "Woman, Biblical Concept of" is a classic example of standard PC waffling on what is clear in Scripture. H.W. Perkin's article on "Marriage, Marriage Customs in Bible Times" was irritating in its incompetence and stultifying style --an editing mistake which obviously chopped out at least part of a sentence or so in my edition was no cause for regret, except that it made you look back at the previous column to make sure you'd read it all. On the whole there's a decent quantity of entries, although there could be more, and the best parts tend to be the historical/philosophical articles. If you want a reference tool that covers a broad range of topics you might be better off with the Internet. | ||
Encyclopedic, Yet Concise The articles in this volume have been written by some of the most thoughtful evangelicals. They are scholarly and to the point. Buy this volume and savor it. | ||
Good, indeed! But... I agree with the other reviews above describing EDT as a terrific resource. I am dismayed, however, that this 1300+ page book with multiple hundreds of articles doesn't have an index. It is therefore difficult to guess in advance what topics it addresses, and under what title. | ||
My most used reference book in graduate seminary and in research for teaching/counseling Other than Scripture, this is the book most often pulled off my shelf and referred to in my studies. This is not to be confused with the Baker Theological Dictionary, which is a slightly condensed version of EDT. Dr Elwell is a respectable conservative evangelical scholar who has produced many scholarly and lay writings centering on dictionary/encyclopedic collections of theological/Scriptural information. He is a professor of biblical studies and theology at Wheaton College Graduate School. The book covers a plethora of topics from orthodox Scriptural ideas set forth by theologians, synopses of Scripture's teachings on topics, heresies and author/theologian biographies. The writings span from 1/2 page to 4 pages with most articles dealing very well with topics from a conservative Scriptural standpoint. A leader of that field's specialist writes each article, with well over 300 different authors providing insights on topics. Each article gives a brief bibliography, and cross-reference to related topics. Most of the longer topics spanning multiple pages offer a summary at the end, for those not interested in in-depth study of all aspects of a topic. Some topics of interest mentioned under "A" (2 columns per page): Abortion (7 columns of writing) Altar (3 1/2 columns) Anabaptism (5 columns) Angel of the Lord (1 column) Annihilationism (1 3/4 columns) Antichrist (3 1/2 columns) Antinomianism (2 1/2 columns) Apocalyptic (7 columns) Apocrypha (OT and NT) (3 1/2 columns) Apologetics (6 columns) Apostasy (1 column) Aristotle (6 columns) Arius/Arianism (3 columns) Arminianism (4 columns) Ash Wednesday (1/2 column) Atonement, Theories of (6 columns) Augustine of Hippo (5 columns) As you can see from the above, there are practical theologies discussed as well as scholarly topics. Overall, the book does a superb job of providing easily accessible information, but a negative of the book is that it lacks consistency in quality since there are so many contributors. Some topics are weaker in writing. For instance, biblical theology is never defined, but talked around in the discussion by G. Hasel, which takes up 6 columns of writing. Overall, as I said, this is the most often used source in my ever-growing theological library. Regardless of the topic I am studying or writing about, I can find significant and helpful information in this text. It was a superb addition, and required text for my systematic theology course in graduate seminary. | ||